Britain’s Great Little Railways

Newsletter 57 November 2014

AUTUMN GENERAL MEETING AT MIZENS RAILWAY

The Autumn General Meeting was hosted at the Mizens Railway by Joyce Griffiths and her fellow members of the Woking Miniature Railway Society. Although the attendance was back to previous levels of around 30, a lively meeting was held followed by an excellent buffet lunch. The minutes of the meeting have been

circulated to all members. The afternoon was spent travelling on their trains with an excellent turnout of their members to help with the running. The track is fully signalled and many members took advantage of the offer to visit the signal box and see how it all works. I was particularly taken by the coaches that featured blood and custard sides below the seating area. Not used on the day but in the carriage sheds were other coaches featuring BR(SR) green sides and GWR brown and cream – an attractive feature. All in all an excellent day and many thanks to our hosts for making it so enjoyable.

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They also had some 1:1 stock to add to the interest of the passengers – the loco being from South Africa and an EMU coach which was stated to have never been painted green – very surprising.

More pictures taken on the day are included at the end of the Newsletter

BGLR NEWS The AGM and Spring General Meeting will be held at Ferry Meadows Railway, Ferry Meadows Country Park, Ham Lane, Peterborough PE2 5UU on Wednesday 18th March 2015 and will be hosted by David Coging. The next Autumn General Meeting will be held at Pecorama, home of the Beer Heights Light Railway. No date has yet been fixed. The 2015 Annual Subscriptions are due in January. To ensure that your railway is included in the poster and brochure please ensure that you pay during the month. The treasurer will be sending reminder notices by email and will only use the mail for those who do not respond. Please make Maureen’s life a little easier by paying promptly. There has been no change to the subscriptions. There is good news from the Cleethorpes Coast Light Railway as the new owners Peter Bryant and John Kerr are rejoining BGLR next year. It will be great to welcome back one of our founding railways and meet

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the new owners hopefully at the AGM. They didn’t say but I hope that they are continuing with the smallest pub in the UK. We also have and application from the Wells and Walsingham Railway so hopefully they will also be joining next year.

HRA, LEGISLATION, & SAFETY REPORT BGLR is a corporate member of the Heritage Railway Association. Members can read HRA “members only” publications on www.heritagerailways.com by entering the username bglr and the password kcnsy37

There is no update since the Autumn General Meeting. The latest issues of Broadlines and Sidelines is available from the HRA website – the login information is given above.

NEWS FROM OUR MEMBERS Romney Hythe and Dymchurch Railway The 2014 season is coming to a close with the last weekend of half term nearly over and Santa Specials looming over the horizon. One of the warmest Halloweens’ on record and what promises to herald for us a couple of records of our own! A bumper year in passenger numbers and Christmas Santa’s looking to exceed previous years as well. How wonderful when it all falls into place! Other news, we welcome back ‘Hercules’ from the Ravenglass, she has been away in Cumbria on holiday, helping the R&ER maintain their summer service. They had encountered a few problems in 2013, and we were able to send No5 up there to lend them a hand. We also have locos 3 and 7 in various stages of boiler overhaul, these are planned to re-join the fleet for the opening of the 2015 season. This will then give us ten out of the eleven in steam for next year, a great achievement for all concerned. We also have some major projects planned for the closed season; installing more road barriers, refurbishing the windows in Dungeness cafe plus any on-going track work and general maintenance of carriages that is deemed necessary. This and generally maintaining all stations will keep the permanent staff plus any volunteers we can coax along very busy for quite a while. Peter Carpenter

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Hambleton Valley Miniature Railway After the completion of track-laying towards the end of September 2013, the extension opened in time for the Embsay & Bolton Abbey Steam Railways ‘125 years Gala’ as planned. With the route now longer (1/8th mile) and steeper (average 1/110), it soon became apparent that a larger loco would be required to haul our increasingly popular trains. After searching around for a suitable machine, I stumbled across ‘Louis Shaw’ (named after a pioneer of 7 ¼” gauge railway). Louis Shaw was originally built by Pfeifferbahn in 1990, and rebuilt as 4w-2PH by B & R.Shaw of the Coalyard Railway, Kidderminster in 1994. Since arriving in November last year, Louis has been joined by two fine ‘scale’ battery-electric locomotives in the form of a 0-6-0BE Class 10 (rebuilt from a petrol-hydrostatic) and a Class 20 built as a 4w-4wBE by one of our volunteers, Russ Turner.

10 274 leads 20 189 away from 'Woodside'

So what has been happening ‘on the ground’? 2014 was always planned to be a year of consolidation - or rather a case of finishing off the bits we didn’t get done the previous year! Thus far, work has concentrated on all areas of the railway. Please see the map below for clarity:

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Hambleton Station – Access into the Workshop (beyond the station) was via a tightly curved platform line which was fine for the original locomotives but was a bit tight for the expanding fleet so the opportunity was taken to bring the ‘Phase 1’ relaying planned for 2015 back a year whilst the borrowed rail-bender was on site. At the same time, the point for the future ‘Diesel (petrol) Depot’ was installed to avoid future disruption.

Woodside Station – The temporary Carriage shed roof was replaced with its permanent slate-effect variant and platform 2 received its flagged surface, Thanks to Andy Lister (AKA Dad)! A point motor was even installed, albeit a temporary measure to make it easier to access the bay platform.

10 274 leads 20 189 away from 'Woodside'

Beckside Station & Junction – To improve the transition onto the Level Crossing whilst maintaining a consistent grade of 1/110, a realignment of the junction was necessary. The original plan was for the new extension to be a ‘branch’ and Beckside would on the ‘main line’. However, the ‘original plan’ didn’t envisage a 3rd extension in as many years! The same train passing the re-aligned junction layout at Beckside

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Woodside Crossing – This was always going to be a bit of challenge as there were so many constraints (and cars!) to deal with, hence I decided it would be easier to tackle in three smaller segments: 1- Open Crossing (OC) with flagman.

2- Automatic Open Crossing (AOC) with

lights and sound.

3- Automatic Half-barrier crossing (AHBC)

with lights and sound.

We are currently somewhere between 1 &

2…

Testing the lights…

King George V – Finally we arrive at the current western terminus of operations. Little progress to report from here other than the minor re-modeling of the loop to accommodate larger ‘rigid frame’ locos like Louis Shaw. The loop points were always going to be a little on the tight side at 15’ radius, so whilst purchasing a set for Hambleton Station, I ordered a replacement set for here too. Will Lister

A Driver’s eye view of the future ‘up loop’

Mortocombe Railway The background is that Alistair is the 8 year old son of Ian our driver that drove the three of us to Sheffield that day. He was expecting a loco to be in the van that came back from Sheffield. He was disappointed as the van was empty. The "letter to Alistair" was a description to Alistair of the progress of the building of the Royal Scott to keep his interest going. He is a fanatical and extremely able railway person. We must encourage them.

Letter to Alistair. Dear Alistair,

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Thank you for your warm welcome when we arrived back at your home earlier. It was lovely to see you and to see the paper railway loco that you and your dad had been making over the last weekend. It really was clever and looked very realistic. I am sorry that you are disappointed that we did not have a locomotive to show you when we returned from Sheffield earlier. As you are aware after you had left for school earlier this morning your dad, Ian, Ann and I left for a business in Sheffield called Mouse Boiler Works. It is a lovely name isn’t it? The man that runs it is a very gifted man, very clever and very particular in what he does. He also has a rather lovely big organ that he plays at different charity events and school days and various other events. It is a very large fairground type organ and he tows it to these events on a large four wheeled trailer. He raises quite a lot of money for these different events. Anyway, I diverge. When we had had our coffee and a chat we all had a look at this lovely locomotive that this man David is building for us. We took some photographs of various aspects of the locomotive. Number one shows the whole chassis and tender. It is long, very long and very heavy. Your dad and I think it is probably over half a ton and it has a boiler of steel to go on it which will make it a lot heavier. Then there is of course what they call the cladding and of course there are many fittings to be added to the locomotive. Items such as pressure and water gauges, safety valves, a whistle, you know how you love making the whistle work and keep us all awake. There are of course many other fittings, to numerous to mention here in this short epistle. Right at the back of the tender are some sheets of steel standing up in the air. These are the sheets for the tender, you can see on the floor behind this are the sides and the back and front of the tender. They are all cut out and ready for assembly. Photograph two shows the tender of the locomotive, as you can see it has six wheels and the axle boxes

have been beautifully crafted by David. Those steel sheets mentioned at the end of the last paragraph are the bottom, the sides and the ends of the tender. It is wonderful isn’t it? Photograph three shows much of the frame work of the locomotive and of the driving wheels. You can see two wheels and there is a third one to go in front of these two wheels which will make three driving wheels either side of the locomotive. It makes a very powerful engine and having three wheels either side gives what is called good adhesion, a gripping of the tracks so that the locomotive has a far great

ability to pull far greater loads.

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At the front of the locomotive in front of the driving wheels are two more smaller wheels either side and these are called the bogie wheels and helps to guide and control the locomotive around the curves of the track. The three driving wheels have what are called coupling rods to connect the three driving wheels so that they all turn at the same speed and reduces slippage. As well as building locomotives for people David also repairs and rebuilds locomotives and various other challenges that people bring to him. The first four points that we have on our railway were built by David. He told me earlier today that when he was building the points or turn outs some

twelve years ago he could lift them reasonably well on his own but he confided in me that now he would have difficulty in lifting them at all. I do remember that when they were delivered it took four of us to unload them and that in my case I staggered under the weight of them. Well there you have it. That was the day that your Dad, Ian, Ann and myself had today. I like to feel we all learned a great deal from David today. You can see how the locomotive and tender are progressing and I trust this has been interesting and informative to you. Ann and Peter

Fancott Miniature Railway

The good weather this year has contributed to the railway having a very good season. The extra traffic has meant that we have been looking at building a new carriage shed alongside the existing loco shed. During the Summer and Autumn months we have been constructing the carriage shed. To accommodate it the points that formed the crossover from the loco shed were removed and then turned around to form the basis of the new track layout. This work was carried out before the school holidays. Following a break for Halloween we now have the carriage shed finished and all the track work in place. This means that all the carriages are now safely housed in their new home.

Ron Stanbridge

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Eastleigh Lakeside Steam Railway,

A feature of all railways irrespective of size, and one that is often overlooked by those of us who enjoy seeing locomotives hauling trains on our railways, is the maintenance of the permanent way and the tremendous amount of work that goes into making the rails suitable and, importantly, safe for trains to operate. Track-work is taken very seriously at Lakeside and throughout the Spring and early Summer an extensive programme of sleeper renewal was undertaken to replace those that were life expired and many that had suffered as a result of the very damp winter. An area that received especial attention was

the 1:50 gradient on the approach to Parkway Station. Several panels were replaced making for a much smoother ride and in so doing ironing out a couple of sharp curves. As the sleepers were replaced, the track was levelled, tamped and re-ballasted in readiness for the service trains. The railway played host, in early May, to a film crew from ‘Heritage in Motion’ who intend to produce a DVD of minor gauge railways and hopefully Eastleigh Lakeside will be featured. Another DVD set

has been produced by volunteers Rob Hart and Ian Heys of the locomotives that have worked, or are still operating, on Lakeside Railway with some superb action shots of trains along the line. This very professional set will make an ideal

stocking filler for any miniature railway enthusiast this Christmas. Throughout the Summer, the railway continued to offer ‘Special’ themed events from the ever popular ‘Day Out With Thomas’, through to those occasions where as many of the resident steam locomotives were in action. Of the latter, the Summer Steam Gala which took place on the 20th July, proved to be an exceptional day when a spectacular array of engines was steamed ranging in size from the J. Horsfield built 7¼₺ gauge 2-6-2T ‘Taw’ to the impressive 10¼₺ gauge 4-6-2 Britannia Class No: 70055 ‘Rob Roy’. The unusual combination of A4 Pacific No: 4498 ‘Sir Nigel Gresley’ double heading with Lord

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Nelson class No: 850 ‘Lord Nelson’ had many people eagerly queuing to travel behind these two locomotives. With the intensive service operating throughout the day, passengers did not have to wait long for a train. A special feature of the Steam Galas is the running of non-stop sevices which always attract an enthusiastic group of people wishing to travel, without stopping, around the 1¼ mile circuit. Following its appearance at the Summer Steam Gala, 4-4-2 Atlantic No: 1908 ‘Ernest Henry Upton’ was taken into the workshop in order that its water pump feed be replaced with the more conventional injectors. It was hoped that this would be completed by the time of the Southern Locomotive running day. Sadly, despite considerable time being spent on the engine, the modification was not finished in time. Nonetheless, the railway’s other Southern Railway locomotives, including 7¼₺ gauge ‘Taw’ commemorating the time when the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway was operated by the Southern, were in action including the iconic un-rebuilt Merchant Navy No: 2ICI ‘Channel Packet’. The final special event was the Small Engines’ Gala at which all the trains were operated using 7¼₺ gauge locomotives and in all twelve engines were in operation – eleven steam and one battery electric. It was a pleasure to welcome

several guests who brought along their locos some of whom were returning home after attending the 7¼₺ Gauge Society AGM. The half-term holiday was pleasantly busy as parents and grand-parents took advantage of the exceptional weather and indulged in a spot of nostalgia with a train ride, and I am sure that the children enjoyed their day out too! One final fling was the Halloween Specials organised in conjunction with the railway café. Hearty food was on offer as well as ‘spooky’ train rides around a very atmospheric railway. ELSR’s No: 7 ‘Sandy River’ and diesel hydraulic No: 1994 ‘Eastleigh’ hauled the trains donned with appropriate headboards, carrying tame rats and an assortment of body parts. The whole event was complemented with witches, warlocks and other frightful creatures. Attention has now turned to preparing the railway for the ‘Santa Specials’ whilst maintaining the locomotives and weekend running.

Lionel Kay Photographs by Lionel Kay

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Mizens Miniature Railway

Steam Trains & Fair Organs Oktoberfest

The Mizens Railway’s seventh annual Oktoberfest event took place on Sunday 19th October and hundreds of local families attended, some visitors travelled long distances from all over the UK.

This year’s Oktoberfest was centred around a festival of fascinating vintage mechanical fairground organs and featured a host of additional attractions including an old time children’s fun fair complete with a vintage carousel and traditional swing boats which kept the children happy - and of course the Mizens Miniature Railway was in operation giving train rides throughout the day.

The superb Fairground Models exhibition made a welcome return and this proved a great hit with children and adults alike. The famous Brooklands Motor Museum was also present with their mobile display unit and some fine exhibits from the Spirit of Brooklands collection of vintage vehicles.

The main attractions of the day were six large fairground organs playing at various locations around the site plus a gathering of smaller street or busker organs that were put on show by members of the British Organ Grinders Association (BOGA). Some of these were on show in a newly created central picnic area of the Mizens site, which is accessed by the footbridge over the railway line.

Additional attractions included a small craft tent, Chobham Country Farmers Market and other produce stalls, and a beer tent. A wonderful range of refreshments were available to all, including the traditional hot snack of the original “Oktoberfest” in Germany - authentic Bockwürst sausages!

With something on offer for everyone, the event proved to be a great local “day out with a difference” for all the family.

Ken Livermore

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Editor’s Note – I read the following in an online modelling magazine and thought that it might be of interest to those members that attended the meeting at the RHDR. I now understand that it is a press release from Bachmann.

Three and a Quarter miles a day

The world famous 15” miniature Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway has had a long association with model railways. A year ago, Bachmann provided some Branchline OO Scale items for testing on the 180 yard circuitous layout to see if they could perform to the expected standards. A year later we can report that each train completes around 31 circuits a day which equates to 3 ¼ miles. Each train passes a counter which records the number of laps and before the Bachmann locomotives could be used on the layout, they had to have Fleischmann magnets fitted into the chassis to work the reed switches, which stop and start the trains in sequence. There are 17 trains in the sequence on the larger circuit which includes gradients each stopping and starting at regular intervals at stations and signals. By the end of each working day the lap counter reaches 535 with each of the 17 trains passing it at least 31 times.

The current layout was built between 1973 and 1978 when it opened to the public. In order to maintain a high level of performance, European outline trains were used and were provided by German manufacturer, Fleischmann. Over the years the quality of British outline models has improved and many visitors to the layout, housed above the RH & DR catering facility at New Romney station, expressed a disappointment that the trains operating were not of British outline.

When the railway commenced stocking Bachmann products, discussions took place to see if Bachmann trains could operate alongside the existing stock and that they were suitable for fitting the all important magnets. Initial tests proved satisfactory and the number of British trains has steadily increased. Such a punishing routine requires the trains to undergo regular maintenance which is carried out in the hidden part of the layout where the storage sidings are located. A team of dedicated staff ensure that repairs are carried out swiftly and trains returned to use within hours.

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Some components require changing due to wear and tear. Peter said “we run our trains more in one day than most people run them in a lifetime. Bachmann have been tremendously supportive and we are now able to provide trains on our extensive layout that the vast majority of our visitors are familiar with – and

we have plans to include even more”.

The railway has for the past three years been under the care of Peter Carpenter, who was the model exhibition manager. Peter, with no previous model railway experience, took over from Dave Merrick who had held the post for 21 years before retiring. Peter retired on 2nd November 2014 and leaves the layout in the capable hands of the exhibition team.

The first model railway opened in 1946 and was known as “Modelland” which filled the upper room above the station cafe and was constructed in O gauge. It remained in operation until the early 1970s when it was in need of replacement. Today just a few locomotives and items of rolling stock from that layout remain in the display cases, although the impressive girder bridge from those days was built into the new OO/HO layout.

The model exhibition is open during railway operating days. There is a small admission charge but entry is free to holders of RH&DR

Rover train tickets. Further details can be found on the website at www.rhdr.org.uk

Newsletter prepared and circulated by Tony Davies, Short Acres, Tiptoe Road, Wootton, New Milton, Hants, BH25 5SJ Tel No – 01425 616622. e-mail – tony@short-acres.fsnet.co.uk or dublorunner@gmail.com All photographs are the copyright of the Railway featured in the article, unless stated otherwise. BRITAIN’S GREAT LITTLE RAILWAYS Ltd Registered Office:- Moors Valley Railway, Moors Valley Country Park, Horton Road, Ashley Heath, RINGWOOD, Dorset BH24 2ET Registered in England & Wales - Company No. 3143331 BGLR Website – www.bglr.org